Astro Alice & dad

[Astro Alice and dad]

11 minutes ago, ronl said:

Hello Alice and hello dad, welcome to the community, hope you both enjoy your time with us,

I'll see you around the forums.

Clear Sky's.

Thanks Ronl

[Skywatcher130]

Hello Alice and dad, welcome to the forum. I have an eight year old son who shares my hobby too which is lovely. We have a Skywatcher 130 goto (hence the name) and also a little Meade ETX 70 that is unofficial his! There are lots of nice space and astronomy apps around that you may find useful. I recently found the Celestron Skysense Explorer app, which is meant to be used with one of their telescopes but can be used by anyone and it will give you a view of the night sky based on your phone/tablet's GPS coordinates and, if you click on 'tonight's best' or search for a planet, there are lots of colourful pictures and information (also audio).  Obviously the images in your eyepiece won't be quite as spectacular but can be fun to decide what to search for! Deb 😀

[Astro Alice and dad]

22 minutes ago, Skywatcher130 said:

Hello Alice and dad, welcome to the forum. I have an eight year old son who shares my hobby too which is lovely. We have a Skywatcher 130 goto (hence the name) and also a little Meade ETX 70 that is unofficial his! There are lots of nice space and astronomy apps around that you may find useful. I recently found the Celestron Skysense Explorer app, which is meant to be used with one of their telescopes but can be used by anyone and it will give you a view of the night sky based on your phone/tablet's GPS coordinates and, if you click on 'tonight's best' or search for a planet, there are lots of colourful pictures and information (also audio).  Obviously the images in your eyepiece won't be quite as spectacular but can be fun to decide what to search for! Deb 😀

Thanks Deb. Very kind & good to hear your son shares your hobby. We were looking at the Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 127AZ as it’s point & go option looked good. The app will be very helpful! 😀

[TerryMcK]

Hi Alice and Dad. Welcome to the forum. Enjoy the skies and I hope you achieve your ambition of becoming an astronaut Alice.

[Astro Alice and dad]

54 minutes ago, TerryMcK said:

Hi Alice and Dad. Welcome to the forum. Enjoy the skies and I hope you achieve your ambition of becoming an astronaut Alice.

Thanks Terry, very kind. Maybe one day 🚀🛰

[Demonperformer]

Hi, AA&D, and welcome to the forum.

We live in exciting times for those wishing to become astronauts, what with the arrival SpaceX and "commercial" spaceflight. Don't let anyone steal that dream!

Enjoy the journey.

[Astro Alice and dad]

11 hours ago, Demonperformer said:

Hi, AA&D, and welcome to the forum.

We live in exciting times for those wishing to become astronauts, what with the arrival SpaceX and "commercial" spaceflight. Don't let anyone steal that dream!

Enjoy the journey.

Thanks Demonperformer, we do indeed, very exciting!

[SyedT]

This is always amazing to see, well done Alice and dad for taking up the hobby. Wish you all the best!

[Dannomiss]

Welcome. I'm. A newbie here too, but everyone is so welcoming. I don't have a clue and just started learning and reading up on things, but one scope that was recommended to be was the skywalker heritage 130p telescope. Its portable, easy to set up and a great starter scope and on here and elsewhere has great reviews. Plenty of advice and help on this forum though 😊👍

Welcome again 👌😁

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Peter in  Bedfordshire  🙂

[PeterCPC]

Hello and welcome.

Peter

[Astro Alice and dad]

On 03/06/2020 at 18:16, SyedT said:

This is always amazing to see, well done Alice and dad for taking up the hobby. Wish you all the best!

Thank you very much SyedT, that is very kind! Andrew & Alice

[Astro Alice and dad]

On 03/06/2020 at 19:21, Dannomiss said:

Welcome. I'm. A newbie here too, but everyone is so welcoming. I don't have a clue and just started learning and reading up on things, but one scope that was recommended to be was the skywalker heritage 130p telescope. Its portable, easy to set up and a great starter scope and on here and elsewhere has great reviews. Plenty of advice and help on this forum though 😊👍

Welcome again 👌😁

Thanks Dannomiss!  It is very difficult to take the plunge & pick your first 'proper' scope, but also very exciting!  The welcome we have had has been nothing but lovely & reading all the topics and options has been a great help.

[Astro Alice and dad]

On 04/06/2020 at 06:43, Pete Presland said:

Hi welcome to SGL from Peter in  Bedfordshire  🙂

Thanks Peter, very kind! 

[Astro Alice and dad]

On 04/06/2020 at 06:49, PeterCPC said:

Hello and welcome.

Peter

Thanks Peter! p.s. your photos are brilliant! 

[knobby]

Hi @Astro Alice and dad hope you spend many hours together staring at the heavens. My first proper scope was a 150 Dob ... You will have amazing views of the moon and planets (albeit small for the planets)

[Astro Alice and dad]

39 minutes ago, knobby said:

Hi @Astro Alice and dad hope you spend many hours together staring at the heavens. My first proper scope was a 150 Dob ... You will have amazing views of the moon and planets (albeit small for the planets)

Thanks Knobby!  Having been unable to get a 150 dob up to now it has led us to look at other scopes as well & have been looking at goto's, my choice, Alice wants to learn the night sky.  We have also looked at a Explorer 130P SynScan AZ GOTO, Skymax 102 SynScan AZ GOTO, Celestron NexStar 130 SLT & a Star Discovery WiFi P150i GOTO up to now.  A little more than the 150 dob but just reviewing lots of options still.....

[Physopto]

I will join in in welcoming both Alice and dad. Great hobby and this forum is full of information for anyone interested in astronomy.

Derek

[Astro Alice and dad]

9 minutes ago, Physopto said:

I will join in in welcoming both Alice and dad. Great hobby and this forum is full of information for anyone interested in astronomy.

Derek

Thanks Derek!

[Girders]

Hi Astro Alice & dad ,

Always good to see a new young one with an interest.  I'm not sure if you mentioned Alice's age, but I thought I'd share my experience with my little girl - now 6 but 4 when she first showed an interest in all things 'space' related.  The 150 dob will get you great views (and have a look at the new 150 flex tube if you haven't spotted that yet as it may be more available at the moment).  BUT, while I wouldn't push a Goto option strongly as it eats so much of your budget, having motorised tracking makes a huge difference when sharing a scope with young children.  At the magnification you'll want for planets they move through the eyepiece so quickly that they'll almost be out of view by the time you've centred them and shuffled around so that she is at the eyepiece.  You can try to set the scope aimed at where the planet is about to move into but it isn't satisfactory.  Older kids will get the hang of the gentle nudge required to keep it in view, but my 6 year old is still a *long* way from that skill.   Tracking and/or goto will let you line things up and know they'll still be there by the time she's looking at them. I'd also add that she finds looking through the eyepiece a poor second best to having a smartphone hanging on the end.  It's an acquired skill to be able to use the adapters properly and frustrating to have to reset them for different eyepieces, but it gives small ones a much easier way of viewing - and it means you can both see the same thing at once.  As a father there's little worse than being unsure if she's actually seeing what she should be able to see through the eyepiece.  Don't underestimate the skill required for this.  Lastly, manage expectations - both yours and hers.  I've had a scope for about 2 and a half years now and although I get out the garden about once a month, she's only managed about half a dozen times or so - and only two or three of those to see more than the moon.  You'll probably have better weather than us in Glasgow, and not quite as much of a problem with short nights over the summer, but even with clear and dark skies the planets rarely make appearances at child friendly hours!  Most of my planetary viewing is after 11pm and before 5am!  It's brilliant that she's so engaged, and there's loads you and she can do (Maddie & Greg Go Live on YouTube if you haven't been watching that), use online planetariums (or hopefully soon be able to visit a real one) or pick up some meteorites (surprisingly cheap for small ones).  Unless she's 9/10 plus think carefully about focusing wholly on a telescope as a way of feeding her interest.  Sorry if that's disheartening. I love the time I get to spend with my daughter at the scope, but it's been far less often than I'd imagined and we've found other ways to satisfy her interest.  But I also know that the scope is there as she gets older  - and then we'll hopefully be able to make more regular use of it.

Good luck with your purchase.

David

Edited June 11, 2020 by Girders

[Astro Alice and dad]

Thank you so much Girders!  Most of the above we have covered & discussed.  After watching & reading more info that is why I have looked & promoted to her more at tracking scopes although more expensive. Alice is 8 by the way & we also have a 10 & 15 year old.  I can also see the benefit of having a smart phone adapter!  And as you say as well, I want to pick a scope that will last as she grows & hopefully uses it more.  Thanks again!

[dweller25]

Hello @Astro Alice and dad and welcome to SGL.

Patience is a major part of astronomy so hang on and buy the  150mm Dobsonian - which is a great scope.

If it’s cloudy 😂😂😂 you could try downloading “Stellarium” which is free and is very good sky simulation software.

Jupiter and Saturn will be visible soon, followed by Mars - so plenty to see 👍

Clear skies......

Edited June 12, 2020 by dweller25

[Neil H]

Welcome Astro Alice and dad that's a great first telescope a bit easier than an EQ , seeing your in London hard to find dark skies here is a link for a light pollution map

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=4&lat=5759860&lon=1619364&layers=B0FFFFFTFFFFFFFF

There's is not a lot I can add,  just like to say enjoy this amazing hobby it's out of this world 🌎

[Astro Alice and dad]

6 hours ago, dweller25 said:

Hello @Astro Alice and dad and welcome to SGL.

Patience is a major part of astronomy so hang on and buy the  150mm Dobsonian - which is a great scope.

If it’s cloudy 😂😂😂 you could try downloading “Stellarium” which is free and is very good sky simulation software.

Jupiter and Saturn will be visible soon, followed by Mars - so plenty to see 👍

Clear skies......

Thanks David!

[Starwiz]

Welcome to the SGL.

John